Railway car draft key retainer



Ap 1952 F. H. PIETZSCH RAILWAY CAR DRAFT KEY RETAINER Filed June 14, 1948 HIS 'ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1952 RAILWAY CAR DRAFT KEY RETAINER Frank H. Pietzsch, Clayton, Mo., assignor to Western Railway Equipment Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application June 14, 1948, Serial No. 32,962

2 Claims.

This invention relates to retainers for draft keys of railway car draft gears.

The invention has for its principal object to provide a simple, economical and efficient. draft key retainer which can be. quickly and easily secured within and removed from the retainer pin opening of a standard draft key and which cannot become accidentally disengaged therefrom in service. The. invention consists in th draft key retainer and in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of. the specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever. they occur.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective. view of a portion of a railway car draft gear, showing the draft key provided with a quick attachable and detachable retainer embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view on the line. 22 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2, showing the manner of disengaging the locking element of the retainer from the draft key,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4--4 in Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a perspective 'view of the three elements of the draft key retainer,

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a draft key retainer of modified form,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the intermediate locking member of the draft key retainer shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of two side locking members shown in Fig. 6.

In the accompanying drawing, my invention is illustrated in connection with a draft key I of the kind used for securing a railway car draft gear (not shown) to the car draft sills, one of which is indicated, as at 2, in Fig. 1 of said drawing. In accordance with common practice, the draft key I extends through a horizontally elongated guide slot 3 in the draft sill 2 and is provided at one end with a retaining head 4 and at the other end with a vertical cylindrical hole or opening 5 adapted to receive a detachable retaining device for said key.

My draft key retaining device comprises three locking elements; namely, two counterpart side members 6 and an intermediate spacing and locking member 1 therefor. Each of the side members 6 is plano-convex in cross-section with a a plane or fiat surface 8 on one side and a cylinripheral ribs [0. The cylindrical surface 9 of each side member '6 between the outstanding ribs H1 at the ends thereof has a radius of curvature corresponding substantially to that of the circular hole 5 in the draft key, but the portion of said side members between said outstanding ribs has a segmental cross-section less than onehalf of the cross-sectional area of said hole. The flat side face 8 of each segmental side member 6 has a recess therein in the form of a central longitudinal channel or groove H which slopes outwardly from its bottom to said fiat side to form reversely inclined cam surfaces I2 in the end portions of said channel or groove.

The intermediate member 1 of the draft key retainer comprises a flat plate of a width corresponding substantially to the width of the flat side face 8 of each side member 6 and of a. length greater than that of said side member. The plate-like intermediate member 1 terminates at one end in a lateral flange I3 that is disposed substantially at right angles thereto on one side thereof. The intermediate member I also has a central longitudinal elongated U-sh'ap'e'd slit M extending therethrough from side to side thereof; and the portion of the metal withinsaid 'slit is struck therefrom laterally outwardly on one side of said intermediate member to form on said side an outstanding spring locking finger 15 that inclines outwardly from the base of. said slit to the free outer end of said finger.

The three-part retainer is mounted in the cylindrieal opening 5 in the draft key I by inserting the two segmental side members one after another in said opening with their cylindrical side surfaces 9 facing away fromone another and seating against the correspondingly curved cylindrical Wall of said hole and with the outstanding ribs H] at their upper and lower ends overlapping the respective top and bottom faces of said draft key, thus leaving a space between the opposing flat sides 8 of the two side members along a diameter of said hole. The intermediate member 1 of the retainer is then forced endwise into the hole 5 between the spaced opposing flat sides 8 of the two side members 6 of said retainer. During this endwise movement of the intermediate member 1 through the hole 5 and between the flat sides 8 of the side members 6 therein, the outstanding spring locking finger I5 on one side of said intermediate member rides on the opposing fiat side 8 of the side member 6 on that side and is depressed thereby into the plane of the body of said intermediate member until the leading end thereof reaches the far 3 end of the said hole. In this position of the parts, the locking finger i5 springs outwardly into the longitudinal groove H in the fiat side 8 of the finger opposing side member 6 with the free end of said tongue disposed in abutting relation to the cam surface l2 at the adjacent end of said groove, thereby firmly locking the three elements of the retainer in the opening 5 in the draft key I. When it is desired to remove the draft retainer from the opening 5 in the draft key I, the intermediate member 1 is forcibly withdrawn endwise from between the opposing fiat side 8 of the two side members 6, thereby causing the free end of the locking finger iii of said intermediate member to ride on the inclined end portion 12 of the groove ll engaged by said finger and thus forcing the latter into the plane of the body of said intermediate member and permitting easy withdrawal thereof. The intermediate member 1 may be inserted by hammering on the lateral flange [3 at one end thereof and may be withdrawn by inserting a pinch bar orother suitable tool [6 between said lateral fiange and the ribbed end of the side member 6 overlapped by said flange and prying said flange away from said end.

The modified form of draft key retainer shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8 is similar to the retainer hereinbefore described, except that the grooves or channels Ila in the opposing fiat sides 8a of the two counterpart side members 6a. extend from end to end thereof and the inclined cam surfaces i2a of said grooves incline in opposite directions from their ends to points midway of their length, and except that the inclined spring locking finger [5a. of the intermediate member 1a extends clear to the lower end thereof. With this arrangement, when the intermediate member 1a is forced between the opposing fiat sides 8a, the two side members 6a, the spring finger l5a rides along the upper slope of the groove Ila of the finger opposing side member 6a and is forced thereby into the plane of the body portion of said intermediate member and, after passing the inclined upper half of said groove, snaps into the reversely inclined lower half thereof, thus locking the retainer in the opening 5 in the draft key I. When the intermediate member Ia is forcibly withdrawn, the spring locking finger l5a is forced inwardly into the plane of the body of said member by the inclined lower half of the groove Ila and, after entering the oppositely inclined upper half of said groove, permits easy withdrawl of said intermediate member and the two side members retained thereby.

The hereinbefore described draft key retainer has several important advantages. It is simple and economical and comprises only three members, two of which are counterparts. It may be quickly and easily mounted in and removed from the opening in the draft key; and it cannot be dislodged therefrom by the shocks and vibrations to which the draft gear is subjected in service. The intermediate locking member may be inserted from either end of the opening in the draft key and may be positioned between the two counterpart side members with its locking finger in engagement with either one of the latter.

What I claim is:

1. A retainer for a railway draft key comprising two side members adapted to be mounted in spaced side by side relation in an opening through said draft key and having enlarged end portions all of which are identical, and an intermediate plate member having an enlarged head at one end and insertable in said opening between the opposing inner sides of said side members for holding them in spaced relation in said opening with their enlarged end portions in overlapping relation to said draft key at the ends of said opening, each of said side members having an elongated groove in its inner side that extends the greater portion of the length thereof and said plate member being slit to form integral therewith an elongated spring finger that norrr ally inclines outwardly from one side of said plate member toward said one end thereof and seats in the elongated groove in the side member located on said side of said plate member, whereby said plate member is adapted to be inserted between said side members from either end thereof and positioned with its spring finger seated in the longitudinal groove of either side member.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein said elongated groove has a cam surface at each end, one adapted to disengage said spring finger from said groove by the withdrawing movement of said plate member after the insertion thereof between said side members from one end thereof and the other adapted to disengage said spring finger from said groove by the withdrawing movement of said plate member after the insertion thereof between said side members from the other end thereof.

FRANK H. PIETZSCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 733,669 Merrill July 14, 1903 1,537,521 Assorafi May 12,1925 1,999,352 Barthelemy Apr. 30, 1935 2,310,016 Doberstein Feb. 2, 1943 

